Join the Centre for Gender in Politics at Queen's University Belfast for a roundtable discussion of the book Queer Conflict Research: New Approaches to the Study of Political Violence. Editors and authors will share about their contributios to the volume and future directions for this work.

About the volume

Bringing together a team of international scholars, this volume provides a foundational guide to queer methodologies in the study of political violence and conflict.

Contributors provide illuminating discussions on why queer approaches are important, what they entail and how to utilise a queer approach to political violence and conflict. The chapters explore a variety of methodological approaches, including fieldwork, interviews, cultural analysis and archival research. They also engage with broader academic debates, such as how to work with research partners in an ethical manner.

Including valuable case studies from around the world, the book demonstrates how these methods can be used in practice. It is the first critical, in-depth discussion on queer methods and methodologies for research on political violence and conflict.

The volume was shortlisted for the 2024 Feminist Theory and Gender Studies Section of International Studies Association Book Prize.

Confirmed event speakers:

• Book editors Jamie J. Hagen, Samual Ritholtz and Andrew Delatolla
• Chapter authors Henri Myrtinnen, Patricio Simonetta and José Fernando Serrano-Amaya

“Queer Conflict Research embraces multiplicities in what it means to ‘queer' studies of war and peace. Across overlapping identities and methodologies, contributors to this volume engage creative and deeply humane ways to approach queer research. This book will provide lasting inspiration to both beginning and more experienced researchers looking to push across disciplinary boundaries toward more compassionate research grounded in the experiences of queer subjects whose lives have been touched by conflict.” – Lauren Wilcox, University of Cambridge

Table of Contents

Introduction: Telling Queer Stories of Conflict – Jamie J. Hagen, Samuel Ritholtz, Andrew Delatolla

Part 1: Queer Approaches to Conflict Research

1.The ‘Queer’ in Conflict Research As Subject, Structure, and Method: Initial Epistemological Considerations for the Early Career Researcher – Samuel Ritholtz

2.Queering the Politics of Knowledge in Conflict Research – Jose Fernando Serrano Amaya

3.Workshop As Queer Feminist Praxis: Insights From Colombian Queer and Trans Women Organising for Peace – Jamie J. Hagen

Part 2: Queer Methods of Conflict Research

4. The Visual As Queer Method – Dean Cooper-Cunningham

5. Poetry as a Queer Epistemological Method: Disrupting Knowledge of the Lebanese Civil War With Etel Adnan’s the Arab Apocalypse – Andrew Delatolla

6.Queer Tools for the Ruthless Archive: Methodological Notes on Trans and Queer History for Doing Archival Research – Patricio Simonetto

Part 3: Queer Experiences of Conflict Researc

7.Researching Queer Lives in the Shadow of Northeast Nigeria’s Conflict – Chitra Nagarajan

8.Entangled Intimacies, Queer Attachments: Reflections on Fieldwork With a Diaspora of War – Ahmad Qais Munhazim

9. Doing NGO Research With Diverse Sogiesc Refugees in Lebanon, Syria and Turkey: A Conversation – Zeynep Pınar Erdem, Charbel Maydaa, Henri Myrttinen and Helena Berchtold

Conclusion: Thinking (of) Queer Conflict Research – Laura Sjoberg

Resource Guide for Good Practices for Researching Queer and Trans Communities in Highly Sensitive Contexts – Cristian González Cabrera, Erin Kilbride, Kyle Knight, Yasemin Smallens, Rasha Younes

Resource Guide: “The Emotional Work Is Part of the Work”: Strategies To Maintain Researcher Emotional and Psychological Safety During Challenging Fieldwork – Maureen Freed

Open access to Resouce Guides here.